Yikes! Big Data...too much to mine for the gold?

When you see the words "Big Data" of what do you think?  The information produced by your company?  Facebook?  Twitter?  LinkedIn?  Newspapers online?  Information storage for Amazon?  Take one of these entities alone and attempt to decipher how much storage would be needed to store their information. The truth is we cannot even imagine what it takes.  Big data is a term used to describe the exponential growth and availability of storage, both structured (data defined by their type and relationships to other data) and unstructured (not organized in a pre-defined manner).  Unstructured data accounts for more than 90% of the digital universe.  Let's put this into perspective.  "If all 7 billion people on Earth joined Twitter and continually tweeted for one century, they would generate one zettabyte of data".  We almost doubled that amount in 2011.  Here are some examples:  for every 30 minutes that a Boeing jet engine runs, the system creates 10 terabytes of operations information and a four-engine jumbo jet can create 640 terabytes of data in a single journey across the Atlantic Ocean (multiply that by 25,000 flights flown each day), every person in the world having over 215 million high-resolution MRI scans per day.  Moore's Law states that "power of technology hardware doubles every 18 months." Wow!  Can we possibly store this much information, much less be able to analyze it efficiently and use it effectively?

The answer is yes!  It requires smart management.  For many, "Big Data" would be considered clutter.  However, when an organization utilizes the proper tools to keep their information organized according to its various publics and stakeholders, it turns into organizational gold!  We have to mine through the digital dirt for the valuable contents to be revealed.  This leads to more accurate conclusions and predictions of the digital data being utilized.  There are tools that organize data into the proper security bracket to which it belongs, minimizing duplication, how power is routed to supply these command/storage centers, and tools to aid in search and analysis.  The goal is to "extract value from chaos."  

How do we do this as communication professionals?  We need to be continually aware of the changes and advances developing, make adjustments accordingly, and systematize the processes by which we do our research and analyze the plethora of information that we encounter.  Big data can be used to predict future purchasing habits, political canvassing and communication being streamlined, improved weather forecasting based on technology implemented in mobile devices, increasing doctors' performance and knowledge of patients/prescriptions/symptoms, fairer pricing based on different variables per person, recommendation engines used by companies such as Netflix and Amazon, allocating police resources by predicting where and when crimes are most likely to occur, and so many more.  "New ways of linking datasets have played a large role in generating new insights. And creative approaches to visualizing data—humans are far better than computers at seeing patterns—frequently prove integral to the process of creating knowledge." (Shaw)   There is actually a Master of Science degree now offered in Predictable Analytics.  Obviously, big data serves an integral and necessary function when used appropriately.

What are some advantages to having such a vast array of information available to us?  One is the convenience it offers.  There are so many things we can do from home now, and we are better able to communicate with our political leaders.  The converging and unifying of technology, community, devices, and various industries provides many wonderful opportunities.  As communication professionals, we need to be the catalyst in building confidence instead of intimidation within our organizations regarding digital clutter.  How do we do this?  We continually work with IT to develop programs that efficiently analyze the data to improve our business results, we stay involved in social media and aware of how are publics view our organization and how we can improve what we offer by improving the integrity and security of our data, we need to analyze and understand the information available to us and make well-informed decisions, we need to archive old application data and streamline new application deployment with test data management, integration, and data quality, and we need to make sure the teams around us are properly trained and involved.  A community environment is essential in creating and maintaining a vibrant and visionary organizational culture.

In his TED talk video, Clay Shirky posits, "What happens when a new medium all of a sudden puts a bunch of new ideas into circulation?  It changes society, the more ideas there are in circulation, the more ideas there are for individuals to disagree with, and more media always means more arguing.  That's what happens when media space expands."    Therefore, as communication professionals we must embrace "Big Data" and media convergence because it is not going anywhere.  We need to have our information organized, easily accessible, and easy to retrieve.  We need to take ample time to utilize what is available to us to minimize the ability for our stakeholders and publics to "argue" facets of our organization.  In regards to the "Invisible College" Shirky discusses, he refers to the sea of information and properly using tools such as social media and digital media organization tactics to be more prepared to make more reliable arguments.  

Peter Hirshberg says (quoted by Edwards), "We're not in the business of keeping media companies alive.  We're in the business of connecting with consumers."  If we are not connecting with our consumers and providing them an organized way to communicate with our organization, we are running on a treadmill while the digital world around us is running the Iron Man.  This requires viewing "Big Data" as an asset and sparkling sea of information that propels our organization to the next level.  In applying effective strategies in the communications world, we cannot operate off of fear of "Big Data," but relish the opportunities available to us to effectuate credibility, reliability, trust, growth, new standards of effective operation and communication, and expedite the vision of the organization we represent.

Does your organization embrace "Big Data" and use it to their benefit or are there obstacles in the way?  What are the obstacles?  How does your company embrace it and how do they use it effectively?  Thank you for joining me on the quest to understand the benefits of "Big Data".

 

Are traditional media dying?

How often does this (sitting down to read a newspaper and drink a cup of coffee) actually happen anymore?  I still consider myself a spring chicken.  However, the Internet was still nonexistent during my childhood.  I am absolutely not digital-phobic.  However, I still love holding a book in my hand and smelling it (don't judge) as opposed to a Kindle.  I love going to the bookstore with my frappuccino and reading a magazine off the shelf.  I love holding my Bible and seeing all of my notes and being able to add new ones and highlight.  I still love seeing my grandmother sit in her recliner with her drink and a newspaper and working the crossword puzzle out of it.  She loves discussing the news, and especially politics.  My dad loves his iPad, but he still holds and reads the printed newspaper every day.  The truth is that newspapers are drastically cutting their employment and many are now only distributing their newspaper half the time.  Another thing of the past was talking on the landline home phone.  Now many people do not even use cell phones to talk and discuss issues.  They text and use social media platforms.  I have always enjoyed hearing the inflection and emotion in the voices of the people with whom I am talking.  I especially love to see their face and expressions.  A true laugh out loud moment is a million times better than seeing on a screen.  

With the Internet and digital media becoming such powerhouses, where does this leave traditional media and newspapers?  Dr. Padgett, our professor for this class, brought up an interesting point.  If newspapers are becoming extinct, why are billionaires such as Amazon's Jeff Bezos, John Henry (commodities investor), Rupert Murdock, and Warren Buffett buying newspapers?  "Smart people don't become billionaires by investing in wrong things" (Padgett, 2014).  Newspapers in smaller markets have less competition for audience and advertisers and have a more established clientele to maintain growth.  A strength for many newspapers is they are keeping up with the digital curve.  They are offering their newspapers online and linking with other credible companies to provide the up-to-date news coverage that this asset-light, time deprived, immediate gratification seeking generation needs.  Many digital news consumers consider traditional news media outlets such as newspapers and television stations more trustworthy and comprehensive, whereas Web sources are more convenient and accessible.  The key is for credible news organizations to align themselves with "new media" that ensures the reliability of the information and reporting.  Online commentaries, many times, provide unoriginal information that do a disservice to those needing enough information to make well-informed decisions regarding politics, local laws, community duties, etc.  In 2013, the Pew Research Center concluded that only 14% of people they surveyed could answer four basic questions regarding current events. 

 This generation tends to gravitate towards what catches their attention first.  Jacek Utko is a designer that has helped his local newspapers to reinvent themselves and greatly increase subscription numbers.  He says, "newspapers are dying because readers don't want to pay for yesterday's news, advertisements follow them, and our laptops and tablets are much more handy".  His idea is to "treat the whole newspaper as one composition, like music.  Music has a rhythm of ups and downs, and designers are responsible for this experience.  Design can change your workflow and branding.  It can completely change your company and change you".  Although many in the N-generation (cyber teens) are looking to be entertained, they can still be well informed.  Newspapers do not have to be all black and white and boring.  Google's chief economist, Hal Varian, believes that digitally distributing news for publishers will be tremendously beneficial if they "can also radically redefine their product and means of reaching consumers".  This is where strategic communicators need to understand the pertinence of a strategic plan to minimize costs while still reaching the goal of the message and how it is disseminated to its stakeholders and clientele.  We need to be a strategic link in the puzzle that brings back the type of quality of journalism that holds those in power and government officials accountable and is able to provide investigative information that is accurate, while meeting the digital needs of today's society and increasing profits for newspaper organizations.

Utko says, "We just need vision, inspiration, and determination no matter the circumstances". Let's discuss the vision of the aforementioned billionaire, Jeff Bezos.  Although Amazon lost money for nine years, Bezos continues to "prioritize long-term investment over near-term profit.  That's how great, enduring companies are created or transformed-by building a strong infrastructure, products, brand, and deep relationships with customers.  By contrast, too many news companies have been paralyzed by the tyranny of short-term horizons.  Implicit in the mastery of the long-tail strategy (providing products and services not only for the big sellers but the smaller ones and consumers with unique interests) is the idea that a big company can serve each customer with precision, in part by deploying sophisticated data analytics and in part by using technology to efficiently deliver good service to small numbers of people".  Again let's consider what we have discussed and Bezos purchasing the Washington Post.  What is his vision?  The world is now the relevant market for Internet companies and "becoming the world's leading news outlet covering policy and politics, not only in Washington but in capitals around the world, and covering more topics more deeply".  I would surmise that one aspect that inspires him is raising the standard of the quality of journalism being disseminated.  His determination speaks for itself.

The landscape for newspapers and how we obtain our information is obviously going to continue to change.  For the newspaper organizations with the vision and inspiration to reach their unique audiences with quality news coverage while not stalling on the digital highway, I believe their future is bright.  It will be very exciting to see traditional media form a healthy relationship with digital media and where it takes us in our learning capabilities.



For my readers, I am excited you are continuing my journey with me as I near the end of my Master of Science in Strategic Communications degree program. This class in Strategic Communication and Emerging Media is going to be impelling, and I look forward to navigating it with you.  I will be posting weekly blogs pertaining to our class readings and videos.

Thanks, Dr. Padgett, for sharing the above comic!

Welcome to my Strategic Communication and Emerging Media class

Hello everyone!  I am excited to be entering my last term for my Master of Science in Strategic Communications degree.  The subsequent posts are going to take us on a journey through my Strategic Communication and Emerging Media class.  It is going to be exciting, and I look forward to your constructive feedback.  Welcome!